Children’s Book Artist Maurice Sendak, Dies at 83

In very sad news today, the wonderful Maurice Sendak has died due to complications from a recent stroke. Sendak was considered one of the most important children’s book artists of the 20th century.

There will likely be many tributes and stories about Sendak today; you can read some here:

The New York Times
The Atlantic
Associated Press

Sendak was best known for Where the Wild Things Are, but In the Night Kitchen was a favorite of mine. It involves a young boy’s strange, dreamy adventures in a surreal kitchen, an airplane made of bread dough and a trio of terrifying cooks. Like all of Sendak’s work it was complicated, dark and inspiring.

His utterly charming interview with Stephen Colbert is still available to watch in two parts here and here.

Update: My colleague Steven Thrasher remembers Sendak on our news blog, Runnin’ Scared.